This week’s blog is sort of a continuation of last week’s entitled, Being the Light. In that discussion, we asked the questions, “What does it mean to be on a spiritual path and are some of us on one and others are not?” We learned that we are all on a spiritual path regardless of whether we are aware that we are or not. This week we ask the questions, “So, why should we be aware of our spiritual path and what are our reasons for pursuing our spiritual growth?”

Like everything else we experience in the physical world we can either view it from the ego’s perspective of, “What’s in it for me, or the soul’s perspective, “What’s in it for us as one unified whole?” In the former we are operating from a level of consciousness that’s focus is on me, myself, and I, nothing more. The latter’s focus is on the collective we, always aware that whatever choices we make have an impact on every other soul, incarnate or discarnate.

So, let us look at the first one where our ego is directing our lives and we choose to focus on a spiritual path because it will benefit ourselves. The ego is rarely grateful for what is happening in the present moment and is always searching for anything that it thinks will bring it happiness. Focusing on a spiritual path is just another attempt by the ego to find a way to be successful and content in this confusing sometimes chaotic world.

Being spiritual is an identification that the ego believes will make us feel better about ourselves and will bring us the success and perhaps, the notoriety that it often desperately seeks. It tells us we may make a lot of money writing and selling spiritual books or teaching seminars. We can call ourselves a spiritual teacher and perhaps, become famous and revered so we falsely believe that we are superior to others and worthy of their admiration and respect.  We work tirelessly to learn all we can about spiritual truths and appear to be on a fervent path toward enlightenment. However, our ego’s seemingly good intentions are a mask we don to hide our own insecurities as well as our desperate search for acceptance and validation. Many times, we are not only deceiving others but ourselves as well.

Throughout my many years of focusing on spiritual growth, consciousness, and the evolution of the soul, I have come across some teachers with negative intentions who, despite their deceits, have helped many people with what they taught. Those people or students already had a good sense of self and an inner truth meter that was in good working order, so they could determine for themselves whether someone was authentic or not. They were able to recognize that something about the teacher was “off” and yet the teachings were valuable and worth exploring further for themselves.

These unethical teachers have also hurt many as well. The sometimes, narcissistic ego is very cunning and shrewd, luring people into its web of deception and making them believe that the teacher is more important than the teachings. Those vulnerable people are eager and willing to turn their personal power over to anyone who can give them the answers they are seeking so they can live a peaceful and meaningful life. Dishonest spiritual teachers and even some good ones who have deceived themselves into believing they are a sort of messiah, are more than willing to take the power handed over to them. When the teacher’s fraudulent intentions are revealed, those who have followed him or her piously feel abandoned and just as lost and hopeless as when they first decided to follow that individual. They were duped into believing that doing so was better or easier than doing the inner work necessary, so they could discover their very own sacred temple of their vast and powerful soul where they could access the wisdom and truths they were seeking.

Conversely, when our souls have been given access to our minds, the egos are silenced and our heart centers are activated. Love becomes our sole motive and the spiritual growth and evolution of, not just our own soul, but all souls that cross our paths become a priority and part of our life purpose. We seek to experience spiritual truth by raising our vibration and elevating our consciousness so that we have our own miraculous spiritual awakening. If we choose to teach, we do so by helping others remember their true nature as a beautiful, vast, and powerful soul.

We can write books, teach classes, or do individual spiritual consulting. Yet, our main objective is not to gain a client or a customer, but instead, to guide people back home to themselves. We can help them learn meditation and mindfulness, so they can intimately connect to their soul because it alone can reveal one’s true-life purpose and mission during this incarnation. Once someone who was been entrusted to us has gained their soulful strength and spiritual footing, they can then move from student to teacher and do the same for others.

We are continuously moving back and forth from teacher to student. There is always someone more spiritually evolved than we are that can teach us more of the one great truth, when we are ready and able to understand and integrate it. Sometimes those highly evolved people turn out to be one of the people we have assisted in awakening and remembering who they really are. They emerge from their state of amnesia and unconsciousness and blow us away with their ability to reach into the higher realms, access greater levels of consciousness, and reveal to us incredible esoteric and heavenly truths. In moments such as these, which I have experienced, a state of humility rather than arrogance is called for that can allow us to move easily from teacher to pupil.

The student we taught has now helped us to move to the next level of our spiritual evolution. When that happens there is a feeling of tremendous gratitude for having been trusted enough by our team of light to be a vehicle through which such beautiful transcendence has emerged. It truly is of utmost importance that we understand that we are all interconnected and interdependent on one another. Helping others, helps ourselves and all other souls both here, in other undiscovered worlds, and in spirit. I believe that is how we achieve spiritual growth and ultimately complete our journey back home to our creator, God.